14 Gay Rights Activists Arrested In Russia As Winter Olympics Open

By
On Top Magazine Staff
Published:
February 07, 2014

Fourteen activists protesting Russia's
anti-gay law have been arrested as the Winter Olympics open in Sochi.

The
AP reported that 4 gay rights activists were arrested in St.
Petersburg on Friday.

The demonstrators, who gathered on St.
Petersburg's Vasilyevsky Island, barely managed to unfurl a banner
quoting the Olympic Charter's ban on any form of discrimination
before they were carted off by police.

In a video accompanying the story, the
activists, two of whom are from Sweden, sing the Russian National
Anthem and wave rainbow flags on Red Square. According to the
report, the demonstration lasted less than a minute before police
intervened. (The video is embedded on this page. Visit
our video library for more videos.)

The singing of the Russian National
Anthem in support of LGBT Russians was popularized by the LIVE AND
LET LOVE campaign, which recently released a video featuring
thousands of choir members singing the anthem in Stockholm's Olympic
Stadium.